


fire and the flood

by chesire (kierenwalkers)



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, Mild Blood, Mild Gore, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 18:36:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7372969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kierenwalkers/pseuds/chesire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Itachi," Shisui sighs and it sounds like amusement, fondness, and exasperation all at once. There's a small smile dancing on his lips, the same smile Shisui normally wears when he thinks that Itachi isn't looking.</p>
            </blockquote>





	fire and the flood

**Author's Note:**

> i've had this idea floating in my head for about two years and i meant to write it before itachi shinden happened...but then school, life, and exams happened so here this is, four months too late. 
> 
> this was based off of kagerou daze in mind. you can find the english translation to the lyrics [here](http://www.animelyrics.com/doujin/vocaloid/kageroudays.htm)
> 
> ty rebecca for looking over htis for me and giving feedback. also ty rei for putting up with my still trashy naruto self, despite what i say u___u

Uchiha Itachi wakes up before the crack of dawn to a sweltering day in the middle of August. He can feel the heat radiating from his window, curtains in front of it heavy and droopy. He wipes the sweat off his forehead and brushes away the hair that's fallen in his face before he sits up and gets ready for the day.

Outside is even worse than inside of the Uchiha complex. He's pops the remainder of the rice ball into his mouth. The rice and seaweed sticks to the roof of his mouth and his teeth the same way the moisture sticks to his skin. The shade of the trees offers little comfort, and Itachi can already feel his skin starting to peel.

By the time he makes it to the training grounds, his skin has turned a light shade of pink. Itachi stops in the center of the small clearing before he begins warming up. Once he's finished there's a small layer of sweat on his skin. Itachi's face twitches in displeasure as he wipes his forehead.

"Nice to see you're up nice and early," Shisui voice comes from behind him. He stretches his arms, yawning loudly, and Itachi can still see the bleary look in his eyes.

"Good morning, Shisui," Itachi says wryly, accepting the water bottle Shisui holds up to him. "Shouldn't you be used to waking up early already? I highly doubt that kind of trait is good for a shinobi."

"Good morning to you too 'tachi," Shisui yawns once more. He sticks one of his hands underneath Itachi's ponytail and flips it upwards, while with the other he takes the water bottle back from Itachi and chugs half of it.

"Please don't tell me that was supposed to last us the entire morning," Itachi says. He ignores the way Shisui's hand is still underneath his ponytail, playing with the small hairs at the nape of his neck. 

"That water was supposed to last us until noon," Shisui responds with a large grin, face outshining the already beating sun. The curly-haired boy flicks his forehead, and Itachi doesn't bat an eyelid.

"Great," he sighs as Shisui throws his arm around him and drawing him into his side. Itachi doesn't protest, even though Shisui's side reeks of sweat. 

 

 

Shisui collapses onto the ground, burying his face into the grass. His shirt, like Itachi's, is completely soaked with sweat. Itachi plops down next to him, lifting the lukewarm water to his lips. He scrunches his nose as Shisui lets out a loud groan.

"Do you think it'll actually work?" Shisui rolling onto his back, squinting up at the sky. 

"It has to," Itachi wipes his hands on his pants.

The sun has risen high enough so they can see it peaking out above the trees surrounding the clearing. The sunlight shines on the grass and on Shisui's hair. Itachi tightens his ponytail before fanning himself. The air around him is stagnant and heavy in his lungs as he takes a breath.

It feels as though he's suffocating.

"Yes," Shisui agrees, "but what if it doesn't? What are we going to do then?"

"Pray and hope that the village won't get burned," he answers, the corner of his lips tugging upwards.

" _Itachi_ ," Shisui's voice is muffled by the grass. He rolls onto his side, propping his head up with his hand. "I'm being serious here. We need to have a Plan AA if this doesn't work."

"You're being oddly pessimistic today," Itachi remarks. "What happened to Plan A?"

"We’re already at Plan Z," Shisui half-grimaces. 

Itachi looks back down at his lap. Shisui is right, this is their last resort. If they don't stop the coup, then all of Konoha will be thrown into chaos and Sasuke will grow up in a world just as bad as the one Itachi grew up in, if not worse. Itachi clenches the fabric of his pants.

"Hey," Shisui says softly and when Itachi looks up Shisui's face are right in front of his. He's squatting down, elbows resting on his knees and Shisui's black eyes blink at him, curly hair framing his face. "How can anything go wrong when Konoha's prodigy was one of the brilliant masterminds who engineered this plan? Me being the other, more brilliant and handsomer, mastermind of course." 

"I think that the fact that you were one of the people who helped is a major cause for concern," he retorts, pressing two fingers to Shisui's forehead in attempt to push him backwards.

"I would like you to know that some people, in fact, think that I am very brilliant thank you very much," Shisui leans forward, arm reaching behind Itachi's head to flick his ponytail upwards. "Myself included," he grins.

Shisui stands up, offering a hand. Itachi allows himself to be pulled up by the older boy before falling in step with him.

 

 

Itachi arrives back home to his father at the police station (finalizing the coup with the other heads of influential Uchiha families), his mother out running an errand, and Sasuke fast asleep in his room. 

"He's so cute," Shisui stage whispers.

"You're going to wake him up," Itachi says, brushing a stray lock out of Sasuke's face. 

"I didn't know he could look un-bratty," Shisui continues. He pokes Sasuke's cheek and Sasuke lets out a small whine in response. "I take every bad thing I've said about him back. This makes up for all the times where he's gotten pissed at me for stealing you away from him."

Itachi ushers Shisui out of Sasuke's bedroom, but not before Shisui pokes his younger brother's cheek one last time. He ignores the way Shisui swipes a few of the rice balls his mother left out for him last night.

"I've never used it on so many people," Shisui says hurriedly to him outside of the door. "I don't even know if it'll work on that many people. Your dad, he's strong." The remaining words die on the tip of Shisui's tongue, and his eyes flicker downwards.

"I have faith in you," Itachi tells him firmly.

"Of course you do," Shisui smiles at him and like that, the mask is back up. He waves to Itachi with more vigor than usual as he leaves. Itachi doesn't say anything about the steadily rising nervousness inside of his body.

 

 

The sun has just begun to dip below the horizon when bushes behind him rustle and Shisui stumbles into the clearing. The sun is a bright red, and the sky streaked with different shades of orange and pinks and yellows as Itachi whips his head around.

"Hey," Shisui says weakly. His grin is lopsided and he's clutching his face with his hand. There's blood streaming down his face, landing on the ground like small droplets of rain. Shisui's clothes are smeared with red as well, and Itachi notes the large slash across his chest plate.

"What happened?" he demands, chest tightening. He approaches Shisui warily, hand hovering over Shisui's hand.

"Got caught up in a bit of a scuffle with Danzo, s’all," Shisui pants and his smile is stretched too wide. "Don't worry though, I managed to shake them off."

Itachi frowns and he notes the small trail of blood Shisui has already left from stumbling into the clearing. He places his hand on top of Shisui's. "Let me take a look," he says as he begins to pry Shisui's fingers off his face. Shisui's hand is warm, but the blood on top is cold and sticky.

"No," the older boy exclaims and Itachi is taken aback. Shisui has an iron grip on his wrist.

"Shisui," Itachi uses the same patronizing tone he normally uses whenever Shisui suggests something reckless (which, unsurprisingly, is fairly often), "you're being ridiculous. We have to get this examined."

He swats Shisui's hand away with ease. Except Shisui, being the stubborn ass that he is, only grips his face more tightly as Itachi attempts to pry his fingers off once more.

"Come on," he says dryly, "You're injured. We have to see a medic-nin."

" _No_." Shisui repeats and Itachi takes a step back. Shisui inches towards the edge of the cliff, near the waterfall.

"You're in no state to cast the Kotoamatsukami on anyway, Shisui," the frustration seeps through Itachi's voice. "You can barely stand. We can do this another night. After all, being a ninja is all about adaptability, right?" Itachi smiles wryly.

"Itachi," Shisui sighs and it sounds like amusement, fondness, and exasperation all at once. There's a small smile dancing on his lips, the same smile Shisui normally wears when he thinks that Itachi isn't looking.

Shisui slowly unfurls his fingers. Where Shisui's eye used to be is now a gaping, bottomless hole. Blood is still gushing out of it, and Itachi can see where the eye has been severed. Itachi has seen people killed in front of him since he was four. He's seen blood gushing from enemies, from allies, from his friend right in front of him. He's seen all sorts of gruesome sights, yet never before has he felt so nauseous and sickened. 

"Sorry," Shisui lets out a bitter laugh. "Right now there's five of you in front of me. I think the blood loss is finally starting to get to me." He places his hand back over the empty eye socket. Shisui's other eye (a deep, dark mangekyou red that's just as dark as his blood) is staring back at him.

Itachi's feet feel like they're stuck to the ground. He hasn't felt weak-kneed ever since he saw his teammate killed in front of him. "I'm not an expert medic-nin," he says hoarsely and he manages to place his left foot in front of his right, "but I can patch your eye up temporarily."

"Itachi," Shisui says again and he smiles at him. It makes Itachi feel like he's seven and still has the whole world to learn of once more. "Danzo and his men are going to come any time now for my left eye." He shuts his eye, taking a step backwards. "I'm not sure I can stop them anymore with just one eye."

"I can stop them," Itachi insists. " _We_ can stop them. Together." His heart is hammering and he only just notices how close to the edge of the cliff Shisui really is.

Shisui places takes his hand off his right eye, and places it over his left instead. "Take care of the village for me. Make sure you take care of the Sasuke, okay? You're a great older brother."

Itachi opens his mouth, but the words are lodged in his throat.

"I'm sorry 'tachi," Shisui mumbles and he reaches for Itachi's hand. Itachi feels something warm and wet placed inside of it. He doesn't dare look. "Looks like you're on your own this time round."

"Wait," Itachi says. "Shisui."

Shisui gives Itachi one last smile, saluting him with two fingers as he does so. He leans backwards, back arching as he falls. Itachi scrambles forwards to reach for his hand, but for once he isn't fast enough. The Nakano's water is suddenly roaring in his ears as he watches Shisui fall down and down and down.

He shuts his eyes before he can watch Shisui land into the fast waters of the Nakano. There’s a loud splash and then he can feel something wet on his cheek. Itachi’s breath is ragged as he wipes his face and dimly registers that the liquid is clear, not red.

 

 

Itachi is numb as he trudges back home. His entire body is heavy and he feels as though enormous weights have been tied to his body. The sky is mostly dark, but a the undersides of the clouds are still orange and red. Vaguely, he registers the bile rising up his throat.

Sometime during the walk back to the compound (he's lost all semblance of time. It feels as though Shisui's death was simultaneously a million years and a second ago) a crow starts following him. It's the crow that once had a broken wing and Shisui took in, carefully nurturing it for weeks and mending its wings with chakra. After that, they would occasionally see the crow on the outskirts of town, following Shisui.

Stopping for a moment, Itachi squats down next to the crow. Shisui's eye is now cold in his hand, and he can feel the blood slowly drying. He strokes it's head, briefly admiring its gossamer feathers. Itachi then, using his chakra to make the process as painless as possible, plucks out its eye. He slips Shisui's eye inside of the crow.

The crow caws, flapping its wings as it hops up and down. Its eye watches Itachi, and for a brief second it feels as though it's Shisui watching him. It lets out another caw, and Itachi has never known a crow to sound so melancholy before.

He covers his mouth with his hand and pushes himself off the ground, stumbling. Itachi wills himself to swallow, and ignores the painful pricks at the corner of his eyes. He only manages to go a few paces before he's hunched over and heaving once more.

Itachi wipes the sweat off his forehead and sucks in a long breath. The crow hops into the edge of his vision, opening its mouth to caw. Itachi shuts his eyes as he massages his temples. Shakily, he stands up and strengthens his resolve as he makes his way back home.

"Hello, mother," Itachi greets as he opens the door. He closes it behind him gently. The crow has already long left Itachi’s side.

"How was your day?" His mother asks, lips curling upwards and eyes crinkling into crescents. "Your father was concerned, you and Shisui both missed the meeting."

He silently takes off his shoes as his mother speaks. By now, Itachi's heart has slowed down to a normal pace, but in his mind he can still Shisui falling and falling and falling.

"Mother," Itachi interrupts her and feels a small twinge of guilt for doing so. "I'm somewhat weary. I'll be going to bed now."

"No dinner?" Mikoto asks, and Itachi can see her face fall as she looks out at all leftovers on the table.

"No," Itachi replies. His hand is shaking, and he curls it into a fist as he makes his way to his room.

Itachi halts mid step as he passes Sasuke's room. Fingers still trembling, he slides the door open to see Sasuke snoring softly in the middle of the room. Itachi walks over to pull the blankets up to his younger brother's chin. He places a small kiss in the middle of Sasuke's forehead before he goes back to his room to sleep.

 

 

Itachi bolts awake because of the pounding against the back of his head to the heavy air around him and the chirping of the birds. He lies in bed for a moment, staring up at the ceiling. His breaths are heavy, and Itachi shuts his eyes.

It takes him another fifteen minutes before he thinks he's ready to get out of bed. Itachi shoves one of his mother's rice balls into his mouth as he pushes his hair back and ties it. He ignores the clammy feeling on his skin and the heaviness in his chest.

As he walks to the training grounds (he needs nothing more than to clear his mind and to be alone. Soon, the rest of the Uchiha are going to come and question him and Itachi doesn't think he's mentally prepared for that). The crow is nowhere to be seen, and Itachi feels a twinge of disappointment.

He settles picks a spot in the shade once he gets to the clearing. Itachi settles down, closing his eyes as he focuses on the basic meditation exercises that his father first taught him. He slows down his breathing, trying not to replay last night's events over again.

(Thank god his sharingan wasn't turned on, otherwise he would have the sight of Shisui falling into the Nakano seared forever into his memory).

Itachi's ears prick upwards, a short time after he manages to clear his mind. He can sense another presence approaching. However, their chakra signature is masked. Itachi stays still, bracing himself for Danzo and his men. 

The footsteps are soft and light, the way that someone who's spent years in training can be. The person is forty paces behind him, then twenty, ten, and then finally five. 

Itachi senses them squatting behind him. He whirls around, keeping his feet close to his chest as he spins.

Itachi's feet are stopped by two pale hands. He attempts to use his remaining momentum to kick upwards, towards the stranger's chin. Only, his left foot is stopped and the fingers curl around his shoes. The grip on his feet are strong, and Itachi attempts to shake them off.

The grip around his feet tighten.

"You're a bit tense today, aren't you?" Shisui chuckles, slowly setting Itachi's feet back onto the ground. "I know that we agreed to train today, but I didn't expect us to start the very first second."

Itachi stares at Shisui. Shisui laughs as he comes a hand through his hair, sitting down next to Itachi. He hands him a water bottle, which Itachi accepts in his state of stupor.

His eye twitches as he feels his ponytail being flicked upwards.

"Sorry, 'tachi," Shisui apologizes as a wicked grin spreads across his face. "You know I can't help it when your hair is this soft." His fingers come through the ends of his hair. If Itachi weren't so preoccupied, he might have preened.

"You're rather pleased today," Itachi remarks as he looks up at Shisui. Shisui mischievous glint in his eye as he scratches the back of his neck.

There are no obvious observable differences. It's still the same Shisui that took Itachi out on a jounin mission when he was still a genin in the academy. The same Shisui that comes over to his house and drags Itachi out into town (because he knows that a small, secret part of Itachi does want to get out once in awhile).

He still has that small scar next to his right eyebrow from the mission with a rogue-nin. It's the same Shisui with his unkempt curly hair and the nearly constant smile. It's the same Uchiha Shisui that's his best, and only, friend.

That, or an extremely good doppleganger.

"And you're rather distracted today," Shisui shoots back. For a moment, his smile is brighter than the sun and Itachi can feel the same surge of emotions rushing back. 

He blinks, pushing the rawness in his chest back down. "Hn."

"You alright there?" The older boy cocks his head to the side as his hand slips underneath Itachi's ponytail once more. He flicks it upwards before placing his hand on Itachi's forehead.

"I'm fine," Itachi replies. His head is spinning, but it's not because of the heat. "We should start training."

 

 

Somehow, after much somewhat thinly disguised subterfuge, Itachi manages to convince Shisui to stay in the compound with him.

"I just still think that we should be doing this when they're all gathered in one place," Shisui protests as he walks back to the compound with Itachi. He spins a kunai around his finger and Itachi tsks at him.

"It's uncertain of what might go down at the meeting today. We don't want to be caught up in any small scuffle," Itachi repeats, for what's probably the fifth time in the past hour.

"You sure you're feeling alright?" Shisui stops in front of Itachi. His eyebrows are furrowed as he studies Itachi, tilting his head from side to side.

"I'm fine," he insists, brushing Shisui aside as he walks forwards. Itachi wishes it weren't so hot.

"Yeah, sure," Shisui scoffs as he falls back in step with Itachi. "It's never been like you to get cold feet."

"I'm not getting cold feet. I'm just being logical and thinking things through," He replies curtly as he stares down at his feet.

"Are you sure that something else isn't bothering you?" Shisui presses. His voice is laced with concern, and Itachi feels uncomfortable with the older Uchiha's gaze trained on him.

"Yes," he lies as he stares straight ahead.

Shisui, who Itachi knows is still entirely unconvinced, lets go of the issue. He resumes his casual slouch, walking next to Itachi in silence through the heavy summer air.

 

 

The loud knock at the door startles Itachi out of his daze. He ignores the way his heart races as he pulls the covers up to Sasuke's chin and makes his way to the front door. Itachi holds his breath as he slides open the front door.

"Hey there," Shisui sputters, gripping his chest. His right eye is squeezed shut. There's blood flowing from his eye and smeared across his face. Even with the fading light, Itachi can still tell that Shisui's shirt is completely soaked red.

His throat clogs up and he finds himself unable to speak.

"Danzo," Shisui gasps as he keels over. He begins to fall forward, and Itachi holds out his arms to catch the older boy. He grits his teeth as he helps Shisui into an upright position. He tries to ignore the desperation that's begun to stir in the bottom of his stomach.

(Why was he lax enough to let Shisui go by himself to Danzo's? He shouldn't have ignored the sinking feeling in his chest as Danzo approached them in the middle of the village's center. Itachi shouldn't have let Shisui sweet talk him into it being okay. It's the second time this has happened and the first time was already one too many).

"You're glaring again," Shisui wheezes as Itachi helps him sit down and lean against the door frame. .

"Shisui," Itachi chokes. 

"Danzo and the Root members really did a number on me," He winces as he touches his right eyelid. "I don't think I'm going to make it past tonight."

"No." Itachi says. "You aren't going to die. We're going to get a medic-nin." He's not sure if the words are more for him or for Shisui.

"I think they shattered a few of my ribs," he wheezes as he attempts to smile. It's broken and doesn't fully reach his eyes. "My lungs too. Something happened to them. Difficulty breathing."

Itachi looks at Shisui and he feels helpless with him dying in his arms. All his years of tireless, grueling training have amounted to nothing. Shisui died the first time, and now he's going to die again.

"And your eye?" Itachi holds his breath.

"Danzo stole it," Shisui croaks. "I can barely see out of my left one anyway. There's so much blood." His voice slowly trails off, and by the end he's sputtering. "I want you to have something."

The hairs on the back of Itachi’s neck stand up. 

"Yes?" He brushes Shisui's bangs out of his eyes. Itachi watches as Shisui shakily brings his hand up to his left eye. He stares with a morbid fascination as Shisui plucks out his own eyeball, unable to break contact.

"This," Shisui rasps and he presses his eye into Itachi's hand. This time, Itachi doesn't shiver at the feeling. "Sorry for leaving this all to you," he says.

This time the numbness spreads all through Itachi's body before his eyes can begin to form tears. He's left feeling empty and hollow, stripped off all emotion, with Shisui dead in his arms.

 

 

Itachi looks down at the ground beneath him. It's stained red with blood. He can no longer tell who's blood is who. There's a pungent smell rising from the ground, threatening to suffocate him along with the stifling summer air.

Itachi is four, and it's the war all over again.

Bodies of Root members are strewn all over the ground. Itachi presses his hand to his forehead. He staggers, hand reaching out for the nearest support. Which, it so happens, to be Shisui's shoulder two feet below him.

"Ow," Shisui grumbles.

"Shisui?" Itachi asks, relief bursting through his chest.

" 's me," Shisui slurs. He's keeled over, hands clutching the right side of his face. There's red flowing down his face. Itachi can smell the sharp metallic tang in the air, over the overwhelming stench from the dead Root corpses.

Never has Itachi's heart plunged so fast. Nothing has changed. He should have refused when Danzo came to their compound, asking to see Shisui. Last time, he stupidly allowed Shisui to convince him to stay back at the compound. But this time, even with him here, Shisui has still lost an eye and is going to die.

(He should have known, with the heavy feeling in his chest as he fell into step beside Shisui as he left their house. He should have known the first time, when Danzo approached them in the middle of the village, asking for Shisui to meet him later).

"I can't feel the right side of my face. Again." Shisui laughs as he coughs. Blood comes out of his chest, and Itachi sinks to his knees. He massages Shisui's back as he tries not to think about Danzo with Shisui's right eye implanted into his forearm.

"We need to get you to a – " Itachi falters. His mind replays Shisui's last words. "What do you mean _again_ ," Itachi demands.

"Hey, hey, careful there." Shisui coughs and Itachi lets go of the back of Shisui's shirt. "I'm severely injured right now." Shisui manages to momentarily open his left eye to look at Itachi. "Well, this isn't the first time this has happened to us now."

"You deceived me," Itachi says in half awe. "You knew that we were reliving the same day all along."

"Sorry," Shisui grimaces and he at least has the decency to look somewhat guilty. "I just wanted to make sure." His voice is low and raspy as he speaks, chest heaving with each word.

Shisui leans back, head facing the sun. The sky, once a deep indigo, has now been dyed red by the setting sun.

"To be fair, I did think that I was in the afterlife during the second time. Maybe I'm still in the afterlife and my punishment is just to relive this day over and over again." Itachi winces at the self-deprecation and self-loathing dripping from his voice.

"Well if this is hell, at least we have each other," Itachi says.

Shisui lets out a low, guttural laugh. Only, it ends up turning into him hacking up more blood as he applied more pressure the right side of his face. "Bad move," Shisui wheezes between coughing up blood. Everything around him smells of sharp metal and burning wood and Itachi wants nothing more than to turn away from the pool of blood forming in front of them, but he finds that he can't.

"We need to get a medic-nin," he repeats, jaw set.

"Oh, Itachi," Shisui sighs and he opens his left eye once more, cupping Itachi's cheek. His voice is wistful, and Itachi stares straight back into Shisui's eye. He closes his eye, placing his hand on top of it.

"Shisui," Itachi says slowly as Shisui shrugs his hand off his back and turns around. "What are you doing."

"I'm almost dead. Or completely dead, if you count the first night. I suppose that now makes me two and three-quarters dead."

"Stop it. _Shisui _." Panic rises up through Itachi's chest, coursing through his entire body, dripping into his voice.__

__"I hope you aren't sick of getting the same gift again," Shisui smiles as he presses his left eye into Itachi's hand for the third time._ _

__Itachi doesn't leave until the moon is in the middle of the sky, bent over his best friend's corpse._ _

__

__

__Itachi has exhausted every possible solution to prevent Shisui from dying. He and Shisui have stayed inside of the Uchiha compound, not stepping a foot outside. (However, that only results in the death of several other clan members along with Sasuke horrifically scarred. Itachi stops attempting it after the second time)._ _

__He's gone to his father, kneeling in front of him as he explains their predicament and _begs_ him to help and understand. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. His mother is usually more receptive and sympathetic. She readily marches to the Root compound, a deadly aura of murderous intent underneath her bright smile._ _

__When that doesn't work (Itachi can only watch his parents being butchered, along with Shisui, so many times) Itachi goes to the Sandaime. He listens without showing any hint of emotion, but in the end agrees to help._ _

__That day is the only day that Itachi doesn't attempt to repeat a second time. He refuses to allow the Root members to wreak havoc on innocents. He refuses to have so many people dead and wounded just because of a simple, selfish request._ _

__Itachi wants nothing more than to scream. With each passing day (it's always the same, hot, humid day) Itachi can feel himself slowly break. Each time Shisui dies in front of him is just as painful as the first. He still feels like his heart is being torn from his chest, his very being is being split into two._ _

__

__

__The sun has been sinking towards the horizon for the past half an hour. Itachi resists the urge to pace back and forth. Instead, he stands near the roaring water of the Nakano as he waits for Shisui._ _

__It was originally Shisui's idea, like all of their ideas, to follow what happened the very first time._ _

__("I think it's a loop," Shisui explains as he shifts his head on Itachi's lap. He's lounging far too languidly for someone who's died every single day for the past forty-eight days. "And that just means we need to end where it began."_ _

__"If it's a loop that implies infinite continuity," Itachi deadpans. "So, theoretically– "_ _

__"Yes, theoretically there is no exit," Shisui sighs as he rolls his eyes. "But hear me out here. What could we possibly lose at this point anyway?"_ _

___You_ , he doesn’t say. His throat is dry and he blinks, looking down at Shisui’s face. _My best friend. The one who understands me the best._ These are all the words that are lodged up his throat, refusing to come out. Itachi doesn’t even allow his mind to wand any further than that._ _

__Itachi looks down at Shisui, his wild curls framing his forehead and his expectant smile as his eyes drill into the depths of his soul._ _

__“Nothing,” he replies. (He’s never told a bigger, more obvious lie than that.)_ _

__Shisui arrives at the cliff overlooking the dark waters of the Nakano the same way he did the very first time. He comes crashing through the bushes, panting hard._ _

__“Hey there,” Shisui manages to grit out. He forces a grin, the one he always uses whenever he’s unhappy and stuck in an awkward situation._ _

__Itachi walks quickly to Shisui, peeling his hand back. The blood streaming down the right side of his face is darker than Itachi remembers it was (a deep, dark red. He’s come to find that it's his least favorite color)._ _

__Shisui’s hands are trembling as they come up to grip Itachi’s hand. Itachi gulps as he strokes Shisui’s cheek with the back of his hand, the side that doesn’t have an eye anymore. He activates his sharingan, running his eyes up and down to commit Shisui’s features to his mind. (He’s already done this more times than he can count)._ _

__“ ‘tachi,” Shisui exhales shakily and he holds Itachi’s hand to his cheek. “I,” he starts. His eye flickers downwards, breaking their eye contact._ _

__“Do you know why I jumped off the cliff that first time?” He whispers, voice cracking the same way when he a much more awkward, lankier teenager three years ago._ _

__“No,” his heart is beating uncomfortably fast in time with the rushing waters of the Nakano. The sun has set, and the strip of sky closest to the horizon is still a pale, insipid mixture of red and orange._ _

__“In order to get the mangekyou sharingan a person has to watch their best friend die.”_ _

__“So you were hoping to both give me the mangekyou sharingan and trick Danzo into believing your other eye was lost forever.” Itachi says numbly. “But why is there this loop?” _Isn’t one time enough? Why do I have to watch you die repeatedly _.___ _

____“Someone clearly wants to make sure that you get the mangekyou.” Shisui’s voice is bitter. Shisui’s hands fall down to his side, letting go of Itachi’s hand. “This is all kinds of fucked up,” he laughs into his hands, smearing the blood across his face._ _ _ _

____Itachi says nothing as he watches. It would have been serene with the sounds of the Nakano in the background, if it weren’t for Shisui’s ragged breaths and the blood dripping down his face, leaving dark pools on the ground._ _ _ _

____“I have something else to ask you.”_ _ _ _

____“Yes?” Itachi doesn’t like the way his blood freezes._ _ _ _

____“You know how we were going to mimic the first day to exit the loop?” He takes another step backwards, placing his hand on his left eye. “There’s one thing we haven’t tried yet.”_ _ _ _

____Itachi’s heart sinks inside of his chest. He curls his hands into fists as he stares at his feet. “Shisui– ”_ _ _ _

____“Don’t be such a damn martyr, Itachi.” Itachi wants to scream until his throat is raw._ _ _ _

____Shisui reaches for Itachi’s wrists, pressing a familiar sticky, gooey substance into his hand. He smiles at him. (It’s the smile he smiles whenever he’s truly happy. Except there’s an inexplicable tinge of sadness and it’s all just _wrong_ )._ _ _ _

____“Sorry,” Shisui murmurs as he presses a kiss to Itachi’s lips._ _ _ _

____His lips are soft against Itachi’s, and he his thumbs rub lazy circles into Itachi’s wrists as if they have all the time in the world. Shisui lingers for a moment too long, lips hesitating as he lifts his head up. He brushes Itachi’s hair out of his face, cupping his cheek as he steps back (the same way he always does)._ _ _ _

____“See you sometime on the flip side, ‘kay?” He grins as Itachi unsheathes his sword._ _ _ _

____Itachi activates his sharingan as he readies his blade. He looks at Shisui’s face as he thrusts forward, attempting to swallow the lump in his throat._ _ _ _

____There’s a splash in the Nakano. Red stains the river, as well as the ground beneath Itachi’s sword. Itachi’s cheeks are wet as he looks up at the dark sky. He shuts his eyes as the soft breeze rustles around him and he listens to the cicadas mourn and the Nakano roar in agony._ _ _ _

____When he finally looks back down and sheathes his sword, there’s a black crow at his feet staring into the depths of his soul._ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

>  _four_ sounds like death in japanese, and _nine_ sounds like agony so the last time shisui died was his forty-ninth time
> 
>    
> bonus convo:   
> [6/29/2016 10:11:45 PM] rebecca: bc i mean itachi is like 12/13 but he has the mentality of a middle aged man  
> [6/29/2016 10:11:45 PM] alice: im not sure it been mostly preslash so far  
> [6/29/2016 10:11:53 PM] alice: i could just keep it that way  
> [6/29/2016 10:11:55 PM] rebecca: and shisui's like 16/17 but he has the mentality of a kindergartener


End file.
